For 13 weeks, viewers were gripped by the show, leading to a record viewership. For the month of May 2012, Satyamev Jayate was the most talked about new television show in the world. The show’s title became the most searched phrase on Google on May 6, 2012, the date it was launched.

Simulcast in seven languages, Satyamev Jayate has so far reached a staggering number of viewers in India, nearly 600 million. That is, almost 1 in 2 people who own a TV set in the country have seen the show. Viewers from 843 cities in India responded, which demonstrates the lengths to which the show’s producers went to ensure maximum reach.

Moreover, it wasn’t just India that watched. Responses poured in from 165 countries and 5,435 cities from around the world, including Djibouti, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Cape Verde and Papua New Guinea. This is a testimony to the universality of the issues Satyamev Jayate touched upon, and the sensitivity with which they were dealt.

Equally powerful has been the show’s Internet presence. The Facebook page attracted over one million likes and tweets ran into thousands on a daily basis. So much so, that by the end of the first episode, the show’s website crashed. Soon after three episodes, the show broke into the top 10 global Twitter trends, reaching as high as the 2nd and 3rd position, an unprecedented achievement for any Indian television show. 14,972,514 posts were received from across India and the world, many of which were heart-rending personal stories that ran into several hundred words.

The response to Satyamev Jayate has changed popular perceptions of what people want to watch. Above all, it has helped generate enormous discussion in the public sphere on issues many Indians are cut off from. It has helped them realize their own potential of being agents of social change.

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“There were many young women, in bastis and slums, who saw Satyamev Jayate and approached us wanting to become chauffeurs. So, it opened up horizons for these women, who suddenly thought, ‘Yes, it is possible for us to become drivers.’”

– Meenu Vadera, Founder and Executive Director, Azad Foundation

“Earlier, hundreds would die en route to the hospital, the closest being 150 kilometres away in Gosaba. Now, we save so much time. Because of an ambulance donated to us, we can even pick up patients from across the border and treat them.”

– Dr Ajoy Mistry, Chairman, Humanity Trust

“Though Kheti Virasat Mission was known among activists, agricultural scientists and farmers even before we were featured on Satyamev Jayate, the show gave us a platform to reach the masses.”